Romantic psychology was a school of thought that began in the late 1700s and early 1800s in Europe, especially in Germany. It developed as a reaction to the Enlightenment’s focus on reason and logic, which Romantic psychologists believed did not pay enough attention to emotions, imagination, and intuition in human life.

This field of study focused on philosophy, the importance of personal feelings and experiences, and the belief in the soul or spirit. It studied how individuals feel and experience things personally, with an emphasis on emotions, intuition, and imagination.

Romantic psychologists explored the connection between the mind and body, as well as things people are not aware of in their minds. Important topics in this area included spiritual experiences, inspiration for poetry and art, and dreams. These ideas are now seen as the starting point for dynamic psychology. Whether Romantic psychology helped lead to the development of psychoanalysis and analytical psychology is still debated.

Overview

Romantic psychology began in the early 1800s from German Romanticism and nature philosophy. It was connected to the natural sciences and included different ideas about the mind that focused on the close connection between the psyche, natural forces, and the cultural background of societies. This movement was popular mainly in German-speaking countries and included bringing philosophical ideas into the "sciences of the soul." Its main themes were how the body and mind work together. The idea of the unconscious mind was important, and it was during this movement that the unconscious first became a key part of understanding the mind.

Romantic psychology was not simply using the ideas of philosophical Romanticism in psychology, but it was a specific development of the Romantic philosophy of nature. This philosophy believed that the world and humans are part of a whole, connected in an organic and cosmic unity, and did not believe in opposites. Nature, and the mind, were seen as a living network that could be understood through similar patterns. The relationship between God and nature was the same as the relationship between the soul and the body, as the soul was believed to be the divine idea that exists in nature. Although the idea of the unconscious mind was not yet developed, an invisible "world spirit" or "world soul" was believed to be active deep within the visible world and the human soul.

Although Johann Herder is seen as an early thinker of this school of thought, and Goethe as its first main representative, Friedrich Schelling became its central figure around the time the 18th and 19th centuries began. From Schelling's view, researchers needed to look beyond what can be seen in nature to find the hidden parts of the "foundation" of nature, where the base of the soul could also be found.

Philosophical aspects

Romantic psychology showed a change in thinking from the Enlightenment's focus on reason and physical things to a view that valued personal feelings, emotions, and the whole of human experience. A main idea of this movement was the belief that the mind was not just a machine that worked through reason, as the Enlightenment thought. Instead, Romantic thinkers focused on the personal experiences of individuals and saw the mind as a complex and mysterious place filled with contradictions. They also believed that imagination played a key role in shaping how people understand the world. Romantic thinkers thought imagination could go beyond reason and logic, helping people reach deeper truths and higher levels of understanding.

Friedrich Schelling, a German philosopher, is known as the founder of the Romantic school of psychology. At the center of Schelling's ideas was the belief that nature and the human spirit are deeply connected through the Absolute—a spiritual force that is everywhere but not visible. He believed the whole world, including its physical parts, was like a living organism guided by a single spiritual principle called the "world soul" (Weltseele). This spiritual force created matter, then living things, and finally human consciousness through a process of growth and development over time.

Schelling believed that non-living matter, living nature, and all living things shared the same basic laws, which were the laws of life or spirit. These laws varied only in how perfect each part of the world was. By studying one part of the world, people could learn about the laws that governed other parts through a method called analogy. Schelling often used pictures or metaphors to explain his ideas, connecting the study of nature with the study of the human mind. His ideas influenced other Romantic thinkers, such as Schubert and Troxler.

Theme of the Unconscious

The idea of the unconscious is connected to the philosophy of nature, called Naturphilosophie, which began in the early 1800s. Naturphilosophie was based on the belief that all living things share a single, unified system that forms the hidden and unconscious connection of the world. This system was seen as the same as the "Absolute," a concept representing the ultimate reality. This idea was first introduced by Schelling and other early thinkers of Naturphilosophie and later expanded by Carus, Fechner, and Hartmann. These thinkers believed that dreams showed a temporary return of the conscious mind to the larger, unconscious world.

Carl Gustav Carus, a doctor, naturalist, and painter, wrote a book called "Psyche" that described one of the earliest theories about the unconscious mind. He argued that psychology, the study of the mind, should explore the hidden, unconscious parts of the mind that are deeply buried. He believed that psychology should study how the unconscious affects conscious experiences, not only in humans but in all living things. Dreams were especially important in this study because people experience the unconscious during sleep.

Eduard von Hartmann wrote a book titled "Philosophy of the Unconscious," first published in 1869. He created a theory about the world that combined ideas from both metaphysics and psychology, focusing on the "Unconscious." Hartmann believed that the physical and living world and the mind shared the same basic nature. He described two types of psyche: one conscious and one unconscious. Both were more fundamental and widespread than consciousness itself, which mainly controlled physical and instinctive actions. Hartmann saw the Unconscious as a powerful, intelligent force that influences all of nature, acting at the smallest levels of matter and across the universe. The difference between the unconscious and consciousness was not in their nature but in their structure, which combined will and intelligence in a way that could not be separated.

Hartmann’s ideas about the Unconscious allowed for a new way of studying the mind, called introspective psychology. He argued that because the unconscious and the world share the same nature, it is possible to study the unconscious through psychology. However, only the mental images or ideas of the unconscious could be understood through this method. The unconscious will, on the other hand, could not be directly observed and had to be studied indirectly through observations of the world.

Dreams

Dreams played an important role in Romantic psychology, which viewed them as a way to understand the deeper parts of the human mind. Many Romantic thinkers believed dreams were not only created by the imagination but also connected to the unconscious mind and the spiritual world.

G.H. von Schubert, a student of Schelling and a scientist who studied nature and the human soul, was an example of this Romantic view of dreams. His ideas about dreams and the unconscious shared some similarities with later theories by Freud and Jung. In a book he wrote in 1814 called The Symbolism of Dreams, Schubert explored the meaning of dreams and unconscious states. He believed these experiences could offer deeper knowledge than what the mind alone could understand. Using a method called analogy, Schubert argued that dreams, poetry, religion, and myths all used a shared, universal language. He called this language the "nocturnal sides" of human nature, which he referred to as the "unconscious."

Schubert believed that when a person sleeps, their mind uses a kind of symbolic language, unlike the verbal language used when awake. This symbolic language can combine many images or ideas into one representation, making it like a "higher form of math" with a poetic quality. This language shows the unclear and complex ways the human soul expresses itself. Schubert explained this uncertainty through the myth of the fall from grace, which describes how humans lost their original harmony with nature. After this loss, the universe became difficult for humans to understand.

Madness

In Romantic psychology, madness was often seen as a natural part of being human, not a problem to fix. Romantic thinkers, such as Friedrich Schelling, believed the human mind was a complicated and mysterious place filled with contradictions. Madness was viewed as a way to show this complexity, revealing hidden forces that are not usually noticed in daily life. It was not seen as a sickness to treat but as a basic part of what it means to be human that should be studied.

Romantic psychologists disagreed with the Enlightenment idea that the mind was a logical, organized machine. Instead, they focused on the importance of emotions, intuition, and imagination. Madness was considered an extreme form of these qualities, a state where the lines between self and others, reason and irrational thoughts, and reality and fantasy became unclear. They also believed madness could help create art and ideas. Many artists and writers were thought to be inspired by madness, with their creative talent coming from a strong link to the unknown and the hidden parts of the mind.

Romantic psychiatry

Romantic psychiatry was a medical movement in the early 1800s that brought together doctors who shared similar beliefs inspired by Romantic philosophers. These doctors are seen as early influences on psychodynamics, which later helped shape psychoanalysis. They believed each patient’s situation should be treated as a unique case and were not confident in using strict categories to classify mental illnesses. They also thought that hidden mental causes could lead to serious mental disorders. In treating patients, they supported the use of psychotherapy and believed it was important to find the correct psychological reasons for illnesses, which were often hidden in the mind.

Franz Mesmer, known for his theory of animal magnetism, is considered a controversial early influence on this movement. He highlighted the role of the mind in healing certain illnesses and gave the idea of a connection between the universe and the mind some scientific respect. After Mesmer, German psychiatrists and psychologists like J.C. Reil, J.C.A. Heinroth, K.W.I. Ideler, and H.W. Neumann, influenced by the works of Schelling and Schubert, became interested in the power of suggestion, which was central to Mesmer’s success. They focused on how the mind played a key role in treating mental illness.

Legacy

Romantic psychology has left a lasting influence on modern psychology and still affects the field today. Some important contributions of Romantic psychology include:

• Emphasis on personal feelings and thoughts: Romantic psychology highlighted the importance of an individual’s personal experiences, emotions, imagination, and intuition in shaping behavior. This focus on personal perspectives has influenced modern psychology, leading to approaches like humanistic and existential psychology, which value individual experiences and the search for meaning.

• Study of the unconscious mind: Thinkers who followed the Romantic period, such as Carl Jung, believed the unconscious mind was a key part of human psychology. They studied it through dreams, imagination, and creative activities. This interest in the unconscious has shaped modern psychology, including fields like analytical psychology, which aim to explore hidden parts of the mind.

• Importance of culture and history: Romantic psychology recognized that people’s experiences are shaped by their culture and the time in which they live. It stressed the need to consider these factors when understanding human behavior.

Main sources

• Béguin, A. (1939). The Romantic Soul and the Dream: Essay on German Romanticism and French Poetry. Paris: Librairie José Corti.
• Burwick, F. (2010). Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination. Philadelphia: Penn State University Press.
• Ellenberger, H.F. (1970). The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York: Basic Books.
• Ffytche, M. (2012). The Foundation of the Unconscious: Schelling, Freud, and the Birth of the Modern Psyche. Cambridge: University press.